But before you think that the Chairman of the Board is blasting his fellow Bombers, Ford himself is out there.

“Yeah, I’m talking about myself, too,” Ford said of his plaque. “I mean, I was a good pitcher, but not great like DiMaggio was. It would be a disservice to those guys if they kept putting them up there.”

As for himself, the 70-year-old Ford thinks he has received too many accolades for his 236-win career.

“I’m not taking anything away from myself, but I shouldn’t be out there,” Ford said. “I’m not in the same class as any of them. Really, Ruth was probably a better pitcher than I was.”

But more than deprecating himself, Ford chose to reminisce about DiMaggio – his teammate in 1950, before Ford went into the service from 1951-52 (DiMaggio retired after the 1951 season).

“Joe was the best I ever saw,” said Ford. “He was a perfectionist. That’s what made him different from Mickey. Mick was faster and could make up for some mistakes that he made, but Joe never had to. He always got a great jump on the ball. He never looked bad.”

And that is one of the reasons Ford thinks DiMaggio is still revered today.

“He was able to command such respect because he never did anything wrong,” Ford said. “He was never booed. As much as Mick was loved, he got booed, but no one would ever think of booing Joe. All those stories about him being the purest player ever are true. It’s just sad that we have to remember them now with him gone.”